Despite recent record-breaking deals
and contrary to what many New Yorkers probably think,
New York City's luxury real estate
is not the most expensive on the planet. It does, however,
come in third place (after London and Monaco)...

A few months ago we mentioned a Citi Habitats report
stating a slight increase in vacancy rates.
Well, in October the situation seems to have reversed. Ultra-low
vacancy rates and high rents are the norm now...

NY Times says all signs point to crime
[falling]
across the city in 2005
for the 17th consecutive year. As of Dec 30, 2005 there had been
537 killings in the city (down from 566 a year earlier and way
down from the peak of 2,245 in 1990). Other felonies, such as robbery,
rape, burglary, etc are also down.

According to this Fortune
[article],
Craigslist is about to start charging NYC brokers a "nominal" listing fee for posting
apartment ads. The reason given was typical Craigslist ("we're doing it for you, people"):

... after a year of online debate, it is set to charge New York real estate brokers a modest amount, no more than
$10, to list their properties. (Imposing even a nominal listings fee tends to reduce clutter and instill discipline.)

Discipline, sure! Let's see what happens
to the no-fee section - perhaps it, too will need an emergency dose of discipline right away.